The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-01-21
THE RAGPICKERS.
oNe ELEMENT OF THE poPIlA-
TON or A GREAT CITY.

rD..rrfnknr< lOItu - WY mp $500 Nv
,,.nf Of the busy population Oh great Guy
iaso Brooklyn. and a careful observation OF
I.@' '...i,,.is will reveal some curious and
....rcsfinc facts They are properly dl-
.5.l INTO four distinct classes, each having
e.,,r,te field OF action and seldom IN
honeymoon the territory of the other dlvlS-
49,. N Nh, fraternity. The first class, who
..ri Quite properly be called the upper ten
,r,.fiescrdom includes She itinerant deal
,to conduct their business by means OF
,,....i,..l looking horses and wagons. Ihey
rl p.loubtedly Indignantly resent their
,.f.tou with ordinary ragpickers, but
.t.- .ampels me 10 name them as such.
,,, am annual license fee of - for the
-r',s a. buying the city'S rubbish.
r,.., rsy a higher price for goods than
.r vi. bo propel the handcarts, and fire.
'' r,. hire shops of their own for assOrt-
.,l storage of their purchases. They
-,rr, larry on = thriving business, and
r,nr experience and acquaintance
80. where the choicest rags are found.
@r.. bay. regular dates for calling on small
'.r--tr- Establishments in order to secure
~. cuttings and trimmings which are too
,-sn to D., used by rag manufacturers.
rl.., also get the pickings OF small shirt
f,.,,-ies printing houses, book binderies
and score of similar establishments.
TIE HAND CART ARMY.
Tho second class comprises the army of
t.rJ cart dealers who can BE- seen every
sor n,,bing their trucks adorned with
rom one 10 "a score Of motley shaped, sized
and toned bells. along in front of them.
IT,, are avaricious in their dealings, man
.sr md
,ro willing 10 purchase a number of articles
which most people classify as rubbish. But
shat is rubbish TO some people-iron and
o4bermetals. bones and old crpetS and null
Gtude OF similar articleS-is thus bought by
the thousands of pounds daily. This class
d always well posted in the tricks OF the
trafe and have certain streets which they
have drlmmed for years. By long expert
once they learn which of their customers
will sell his rags at any price, and which
skill bacgle with them over the last penny.
They often find unexpected treasures III
their purchases, and rarely return anything
valuable that thus comes within their clutch.
We now come to the third class of rag
niol,ers. who are by far the most aggressive
I'm their methods. l refer TO the rummagers
who are abroad early in the morning and
late 40 night. overhaulmg our ash cans and
ash barrels. They are mostly Italians, and
carry huge bags and a long iron hook, not
unlike a stove poker They are numbered
bv the thousands. are almost unacqualnted
with the laws and customs Of this country,
live i'm the poorest class of tenements, and
by the most stringent economy and indus
try manage 10 save up quite respectable
bank accounts. The inborn passions of the
Italian race are but little modified by our
climate. or by contact with our people and
fatal aIIays are of frequent occurrence
among them. They are clannish, preserve
their national customs. subsi,t on the cheap
est food and endure pivations and hard
shus that would kin nine ont of ten of our
native population This class take every
thing from a barrel that their hooks will
DRAG forth-old boots, shoes, hats, rags,
fragments of carpet. bottles corks, horse
bair feathers, paper wood. coal, cigar
stuts-mieel everything except ashes and
cliukes often the barrels of brown stone
fronts Weld rich finds to these delivers.
A PLETHoEIC BUNDLE
One day saw swarthy fellow stop be
fore half a dozen barrels grouped on the
sidewalk before a Clinton avenue house, and
NHIl IIIIl 0IllfIf NlAtl al hllifs eil'iS
which were the following A Turkish rug,
which was not in shreds 10y any means, and
which undoubtedly saw subsequent service
ia the finders bedchamber; an old hat
which was Immediately substituted for a
dlapdated cap ON tie finders head; old
n Shoes rags and articles of tin ware, which
4 We're thrust into his roomy bag, aud an APP
n pie and q crust of bread, which, after a few
s,elimiuary UOlshes on milord's soiled coat
sleeves, were ravenously deyoured. He
had arrived at tbs spot with q bag having
decidedly amaciated appearance but left
with p.cthoric bundle under whose weight
be could hardly stagger.
Harvest time with all rag pickers comes
in the spring. For then it is that houses
are cleaned families move, old carpets are
thrown away old garments are discarded
and thousands of articles find their way to
the teeming ash barrel Brooklyn pays about
$4,000 annually for the removal Of It's
ashes, and last year over 2G0, 600 loads were
carted TO the low lots which abound in
South Brooklyn and elsewhere 1t is near
these dumps, i'm miserable novels, that the
last but by no means the least, class of this
great family Of ragpickers dwell. They are
.+tt4'n l4i INC Llol ililS dhditiii1 ti4N a.
nyal of the ash carts ike as many vultures
would await the coming of prey, and no
cnuon crows ever plunged their talons IN
the carcass Of a dead COW with more vorac-
NY than these people settle down TO a frouzy
examination Of the ash heaps. A person
would suppose that little remains in the
ashes after the rummaging of the Italian
street pckes But men, women and chill
aIen 10y the hundreds work there with bag
ana basket from sunrise TO sunset. Old
coal sc1ttles pots, kettles pans, broken
a cfoekery hats, caps, bonnets, cast off gar
il ments, feathers, coal wood and multitudes
"a oi similar articles are taken TO the finders
a@nties and cleaned and repaired for per-
s'nai use. Old metal, rags, paper, bon IS,
bottles, Tin cans and scraps Of tin, hair,
corIs, bits Of leather and rope are carried
away for assortment and sale.-Brooklyn
Eagle